Thriving Communities Strategy (2019-2023) Consultation results An online consultation took place on the draft Thriving Communities Strategy (2019 – 2023) between 17 December 2018 and 7 February 2019 There were 16 responses Here is a summary of the feedback that was received about the draft document. 1. Looking at the description of a Thriving Community on pages 3 and 4, is there anything you think we have missed?

Points raised Response

Community assets are secure This is dealt with in the section; Good Quality Community Facilities and Spaces

The local community have power to shape local planning in their area

Mainly dealt with by Statement of Community Involvement

Appreciate there is a statement on equalities - ensure this is truly followed

This is a key council commitment

A thriving community should give opportunities for all members to be creative or explore their creativity by providing a wide range of creative and cultural activities.

The council has a very detailed Heritage and Arts programme which can be found on the website. Information about accessing the Leisure & Culture Strategy (2016-2020) will be included in the new Strategy

The voluntary sector in general are meeting increased resistance to secure external funding sources due to the council's cutbacks in services, in our case, youth services, where 'leverage' brings additional financial support, from charitable trusts in the main, into the borough

Support for the VCSE sector, including support applying for funding, is detailed in the section: Strong and Sustainable Community Groups.

The document is word heavy and you have wade through alot of text before reaching the hexagon graph

The design for the final document is still to be agreed – this comment will be taken into account when drafting the final version.

The general public does not think that it has any influence over council decisions. Indeed, many officers appear to think that the public should not be allowed to get involved in the decision making process and try to ensure lack of transparency and

This issue is dealt with in the section: A Strong and Influential Community Voice

2. Please indicate whether you think we have identified the correct outcomes, or whether we need to make changes to the list

lack of accountability in the furtherance of that objective. There can not be a thriving community unless all residents feel they are able to participate in the way we are governed. Participation cannot be achieved unless there is full transparency and accountability within the decision making process.

Points raised Response

People are able to contribute to helping others and empowered to do so

This refers to the section: Everyone Plays Their Part in the Community

The third bullet point could include reference to creativity as an essential ingredient of leading fulfilled lives: Our residents should have the opportunity to lead independent, healthy and creative lives etc...

How this Strategy links in with the Leisure & Culture Strategy (2016-2020) will be included in the final document.

Knife crime is a major issue in the borough, again not exclusive to Hounslow. My view is endorsed by the local police and I am working with the council and the police to address this in our schools. Knife crime is also a major driver of other associated crimes from street robbery [mugging] through to drugs and all the way up to murder.

This issue has been forwarded to the council’s Community Safety Team

In line with London Mayor Environmental Strategy

An additional section will be added to the strategy document, putting the proposals into a strategic context. The Mayor’s Environment Strategy will be referenced there.

The outcomes should focus on how the Council will increase transparency and accountability within all Council departments

This refers to the section: A Strong and Influential Community Voice

Effective Social Action & Volunteering 3. Does the “you have told us” section accurately reflect your views?

Points raised Response

Area forums are ineffective given only 20 people attend (the same 20)

The council is reviewing how to make Area Forums more inclusive – this is referenced in the section: A Strong and Influential Community Voice

I feel completely under-valued for my volunteer work - why not have an incentive scheme, eg. a reduction in Council Tax, for time spent volunteering in the community?

We recognise that this is an issue and have set out actions to address this. The Value You scheme is referenced in the section: Effective Social Action and Volunteering and the first bullet in this section is “Better promote and celebrate the huge impact that volunteers make across the borough”

Consider innovative ways of boosting volunteer engagement Volunteer role descriptions on Volunteering Hounslow can be a bit dry. There is a lack of opportunities on the website for willing volunteers to really engage and feel useful in roles that really capture their imaginations.

This is one of the priorities of the new Strategy and the council is working with Volunteering Hounslow to increase volunteering in the borough.

A Labour council should be doing everything in their power to educate and clarify about volunteering...such as working with job centre staff to ensure they are all educated about the rules of volunteering and pushing for a policy change to stop volunteering being penalised financially etc

These comments have been passed onto the volunteer brokerage service, Volunteering Hounslow

The most important outcome would be to address the real problem; local government has become disconnected from the lives of borough residents - in the same was as national politics has become disconnected from the wider general public. All institutions are now tainted with the same problem - the public no longer hold them in any regard

Improving the relationship between the council and residents is one of the key priorities of the new Strategy. This is addressed in the section: A Strong and Influential Community Voice.

Points raised Response

According to the MEL report you were told: 1. The public are concerned about too much property development. 2. There was distrust of the Council with a "them versus us" attitude from the Council. 3. Residents said they wanted to get more involved in the decision making process, but felt reluctant to do that as they felt that their feedback would not be taken into consideration. 4. Residents felt that although the council could improve the way it makes residents more aware of decisions that need to be made, there needs be more transparency within the council in terms of how decisions were made and how residents’ views were taken into account. 5. Residents felt the council should make better use of existing engagement platforms such as resident associations and other community groups when promoting consultations etc. The workshop that I attended was split into two groups. Both groups independently concluded that their predominant concern was about lack of integrity in the way the Council interacted with the public.

1. Outside the scope of this strategy 2. This comment is dealt with in the ‘Everyone plays their part in the community’ section. 3-5. These comments are dealt with in the ‘Strong and Influential Community Voice’ and

The feedback from the MEL reports commissioned by the council have been ignored. This illustrates the basic problem with the Council's thriving communities strategy - the Council does not listen to the public if it says things that the Council does not want to hear. There is no point in paying consultants to research issues and then ignoring their findings.

This is not the case, the feedback from the MEL report has shaped the strategy, and we have highlighted how this is the case in response to the comment above.

4. Do you support our proposed approach to achieving effective social action and volunteering

Strong & Sustainable Community Groups 5. Does the “you have told us” section accurately reflect your views?

Points raised Response

You need to provide adequate resources to commission a volunteering support service.

This is provided by Volunteering Hounslow, who are commissioned by the council.

Would like to see references to Your Voice HCS & Hounslow CCG.

These will be added to the final strategy document

Yes but need a clear guide of local voluntary services, and when vacancies occur, so people can no of it as a dating agency type approach so the council can facilitate matches, as that will only strengthen the VCS

This is now provided by the new Community Information Guide, on the council’s website

think the approach is very thorough and inclusive. I think the initiative to work with West Thames College to volunteer is fantastic and such initiative should be encouraged in secondary schools around the borough as way to get the pupils to be aware of the world of volunteering. This way the seed of future volunteers is sown.

These comments have been passed onto West Thames College

Improve transparency over the decision making process by informing residents as to why a decision has been made.

This refers to the section: A Strong and Influential Community Voice

Points raised Response

As a newly formed charity, it can be confusing the understand the difference/interplay between HVSSS, HCN, CPU, etc. It would be great to have one place/page/point of contact to get oriented on the local voluntary landscape.

This information will be added to the final Strategy document – in the new glossary

Peer to peer support for new and small charities could also be better supported. I think instead of formal meetings, networking opportunities for sharing learning and supporting one another as small groups would be highly effective

HVSSS run events like this, and information about them will be included in the final Strategy document

I believe that the VCS or community partnerships unit should unite with small groups to apply to big grants which are then more likely to succeed to help them keep going/build capacity/deliver - there is no regulation stopping this far as I know..

This is covered in the section: Strong and Sustainable Community Groups

I think that the new civic centre should have a "small groups help desk" where someone in need can be referred directly by officer they have spoken to to connect them to groups that might assist their situation

This suggestion will be passed onto the team managing the move to Hounslow House

The suggestion that" the council should make more use of valuable knowledge that grassroots organisations can provide about the local community", is a view shared by [our association]. However the assertion that "a resident with a problem usually goes to the Council first" is quite wrong. Most people only approach the council as a last resort. They first talk to friends and neighbours, and that often results in conversations with Residents' Associations. Virtually no resident sees lobbying their local Councillors as an effective way to get their views across. Most residents do not know who their councillors are, or that there is more than one for each ward, or even what ward they live in, or how to contact any Councillor. Residents' Associations have a much closer link with the community which they serve. Whether or not Councillors are aware of it, they are becoming irrelevant to their electorate. Residents' Associations are doing the work that Councillors used to do.

The comments about local councillors are addressed in the section ‘A strong and influential community voice’

6. Do you support our proposed approach to achieving strong and sustainable community groups?

Points raised Response

There was someone who would come give green gym exercises - but no one attended - so why continue with something that wasn’t working ?

Information about Green Gyms is provided on the council website. The sessions are proving to be very popular across the borough. There is also a section specifically in this section of the Strtegy entitled ”The benefits of volunteering – Marilyn’s story which refers to the Green Gym.

Increased Circulation of Evolve is a very good idea

The council is continually looking at ways of increasing the circulation of Evolve.

Hounslow Compact need to be applied more in poorer parts of the borough. Most people have never even heard of it. The Voluntary and Community Sector needs to have its own direct link from the Council Website

The new strategy has identified the need to raise awareness of the Compact and to monitor its use. There is a direct link on the council website under the heading: Community and Living. This will be more widely promoted in the new Strategy

The MEL report of March 2018 recommended that the Council build on existing relationships with local community organisations that have contact with a wide pool of residents, such as resident groups and other local community groups. There is no reference to this issue in the consultation.

This comment is covered in the section ‘a strong and influential community voice’. The strategy will be amended to reflect this comment.

The MEL report recommended the council focus on improving day to day communications. The reality is that many communications do not get answered.

Improving council communications is one of the priorities of the new Strategy and proposals for doing this are included in the section: A Strong and Influential Community Voice.

• Work with key teams to develop a new approach to communicating on both upcoming decisions and decisions that have already been made.

• Adopt a simplified approach to communications, so that the language we use is easy to understand and briefings on council

A strong and influential community voice 7. Does the “you have told us” section accurately reflect your views?

projects are aimed specifically at the neighbourhoods that they most affect.

• Continue to work with teams across the council to encourage better consultation and engagement, including better targeting of consultations at affected parties.

The same situation applies to FOI requests where a great many submissions are ignored. Where we have pointed out failures to respond to correspondence or FOI requests there has never been any accountability for the process failure. Officers clearly take the view that they are unaccountable for their actions.

FOI requests are outside the scope of this strategy. They are covered by the Freedom of Information Act 2000

Points raised Response

At the moment there is no community representation on Area Forums. This should be introduced as mandatory

Area Forums are open to the general public. The following action is proposed in this section of the strategy “Look at ways of making the Area Forums more inclusive and better publicised so that residents and community groups have more of an opportunity to have their views heard.”

Communication should be improved: better use of HCN to reach 'engagement blackspots' and local media not just relying on the Council's own publications and emails.

We work with HCN to widen the range of communications for the VCSE sector. This strategy focuses on what the council has the power to deliver and whilst we work with local media outlets, we cannot guarantee they will cover what we send them.

Is not interest in Residents views so they feel they have no voice at all. All they do is cover up whats going on.

This mirrors some of the feedback received through the MEL research workshops and report. The whole programme of work set out under the ‘strong and influential community voice’ building block seeks to address this.

There is still a 'them and us' barrier between the council and residents, evidenced at HCN and network meetings I

This issue is addressed in the section : Everyone Plays Their Part in the Community.

Better communications from website is needed.

While Council communications as a whole are outside the scope of this strategy, we have set out a programme of work to improve communications around the areas that are in scope –for example opportunities to influence decision-making.

Councillors should be made to have more public appearances, not only during council meetings but with their ward in particular, they should be better placed to get involved with the community

The new Strategy addresses the role of Councillor’s as Community Leaders, and they are committed to the aims of the Strategy in this regard.

Virtually no resident sees lobbying their local Councillors as an effective way to get their views across. Most residents do not know who their councillors are, or that there is more than one for each ward, or even what ward they live in, or how to contact any Councillor. Residents' Associations have a much closer link with the community which they serve. Whether or not Councillors are aware of it, they are becoming irrelevant to their electorate. Residents' Associations are doing the work that Councillors used to do.

The MEL report highlighted that some residents see lobbying their local councillor as en affective way to get their views across. The remainder of this feedback is covered in the bullet point “Some residents see lobbying their local Councillors as an effective way to get their views across, though many feel there should be more face-to-face interaction between Councillors and their local communities. Only 13% of residents could name one or more of their local Councillors in the latest Residents’ Survey.” We have sought to address this through the following action: “ Develop a programme of work with ward Councillors to understand their current engagement with their local communities and how this could be strengthened.”

"You told us" has omitted the general view of the public that the Council has an issue with its perceived lack of integrity.

The feedback from the MEL sessions regarding the council’s relationship with residents is reported in the sections: A Strong and Influential Community Voice and Everyone Plays Their Part in the Community

The general public does not think that it has any influence over council decisions. Indeed, many officers appear to think that the public should not be allowed to get involved in the decision making process and try to ensure lack of transparency and lack of accountability in the furtherance of that objective. There can not be a thriving community unless all residents feel they are able to participate in the way we are governed. Participation cannot be achieved unless there is full transparency and accountability within the decision making process.

This feedback is covered by the first two bullet points of this section. We have set out the following actions to address this feedback: “Work with key teams to develop a new approach to communicating on both upcoming decisions and decisions that have already been made.” “Continue to work with teams across the council to encourage better consultation and engagement, including better targeting of consultations at affected parties.”

A thriving community is one where everyone has the opportunity to have their say. The Council is very poor at ensuring that this happens. Frequently decisions are imposed without consultation. The introduction of changes to the Complaints procedure is a striking example of the Council bypassing public opinion. The public participated in the creation of the Council's Consultation Charter. This charter

See previous comment.

8. Do you support our proposed approach to achieving a strong and influential community voice?

required public consultation on the changes to the Complaints Procedure. The Council ignored this requirement. Residents only found out about the changes after they had been made.

According to the MEL report you were told: […] 3. Residents said they wanted to get more involved in the decision making process, but felt reluctant to do that as they felt that their feedback would not be taken into consideration. 4. Residents felt that although the council could improve the way it makes residents more aware of decisions that need to be made, there needs be more transparency within the council in terms of how decisions were made and how residents’ views were taken into account. 5. Residents felt the council should make better use of existing engagement platforms such as resident associations and other community groups when promoting consultations etc. The workshop that I attended was split into two groups. Both groups independently concluded that their predominant concern was about lack of integrity in the way the Council interacted with the public.

3 & 4 – see previous response We have included the following action: “Work with service areas of the council to raise awareness of the broad range of voluntary, community and resident groups present in the borough, and encourage them to think about which groups should be involved in which decisions.” We will amend this to reflect the feedback as follows: “Work with service areas of the council to raise awareness of the broad range of voluntary, community and resident groups present in the borough, and encourage them to think about which groups should be involved in which decisions, and how these groups could help raise awareness of/promote opportunities to influence these.”

Improve transparency over the decision making process by informing residents as to why a decision has been made.

We have outlined the following action to address this feedback: “Work with key teams to develop a new

approach to communicating on both upcoming decisions and decisions that have already been made.”

Good quality community facilities and spaces 9. Does the “you have told us” section accurately reflect your views?

Points raised Response

Need to do more to listen to consultations and involve residents in the design

We will amend the following action to reflect this feedback: “Continue to work with teams across the council to encourage better consultation and engagement, including better targeting of consultations at affected parties.” Add at end “, better reporting of consultation results and involving consultees in consultation design”

The middle class residents association have a stronger voice than the council estates - need to engage with housing officers who know better about their needs

The Council has recently agreed to commit significant resources to improve engagement with Council tenants and leaseholders.

Why do we have so many council meetings - we have more than any other borough in London and frankly it’s just reading our items - the fact no members of the public attend should be clear as to the lack of engagement - yet no one thinks to change it up

We have included the following action to address this feedback “Bring together relevant council teams, residents and community groups to explore ways of improving the transparency and openness of all council meetings.” And will consider this view as part of the review.

I particularly welcome the mapping of engagement blackspots and estate inspection. A tangible measurable mechanism should be put in place to monitor this.

We will explore how this can be monitored as part of the work.

It is clear that the Council does often invite the community to comment on issues and proposals through consultations.

Noted.

While it is possible to have a strong voice, if the opinions expressed do not coincide with the views of officers, the public view will be ignored

We have sought to address this through the following action: “Widely promote the benefits of meaningful engagement, showcasing occasions where engagement has influenced the final outcome helping to create an organisation-wide culture in which the benefits of resident involvement are widely recognised.”

10. Do you support our proposed approach to achieving good quality community facilities and spaces?

Points raised Response

Community assets are secure This is referenced in the statement: “Work with colleagues in Corporate Property and other relevant service areas (housing, libraries, parks, education) to develop a Community Assets Strategy to include an agreed approach to Community Asset Transfer”

Impossible to see what facilities can be hired

The council website has a new section called the Community Information Guide. This provides information about community spaces for hire – and as it develops will become the main source for this information.

Perhaps focusing on spaces that are readily available for groups for one-offs: Encouraging schools and places of faith to connect with their local charities, to increase the likelihood of them opening up use of their spaces when not in use, for local charity events.

Coordination of this kind is one of the priorities of the new Strategy The following actions in the Strategy address this issue: “Consider the feasibility of developing a network of Community Hubs across borough which will help support outcomes around health, wellbeing and personal development, skills and employability” “Support greater collaboration and networking opportunities for those managing community buildings e.g. shared staff roles, joint purchasing, shared equipment etc.”

How does this strategy link in with Council's Biodiversity Area Plan, Rights of Way Plan, Conservation Area Appraisals, the forthcoming Heritage Appraisal.

The final document will address the strategic context of the new Strategy with reference to these documents.

There is no mention about the health benefit of using open spaces, the links between many services and the help that community parks and green areas could do to provide service users such as elderly, mental health suffers, young offenders.

These benefits are covered in length in the council’s Joint Health & Wellbeing Strategy (2018-2022) and Leisure & Culture Strategy (2016-2020). The final document will address the strategic context of the new Strategy with reference to these documents.

Residents association halls should be able to promote all activities, have spaces and allocated time for newcomers to work on and be more inclusive and welcoming.

This comment will be added to the ‘you have told us’ section.

Safe and respectful community relations 11. Does the “you have told us” section accurately reflect your views?

Points raised Response

Can we have ALL community centres for hire on the council website

The council website has a new section called the Community Information Guide. This provides information about community spaces for hire – and as it develops will become the main source for this information.

A more detailed breakdown of what LBH will do to enable good quality community facilities and spaces would be welcomed. Some of the 10 points presented should be more specific For instance: Consider how lease arrangements, disposal of underutilised assets or asset transfer could help to leverage significant external funding to improve and maintain assets for community benefit in the long-term.

We will liaise with the relevant council department about adding more information to the new Thriving Communities Strategy

Mention to the London Mayor Environment Strategy should be added since we are all working for a better future and the environment needs to be taken into consideration.

An additional section will be added to the strategy document, putting the proposals into a strategic context. The Mayor’s Environment Strategy will be referenced there.

Points raised Response

Hounslow Friends of Faith could be more dynamic in promoting their places of faith in engaging their communities in social action initiatives and leading the way in bringing faith based communities together.

We work closely with Hounslow Friends of Faith and will pass this onto them

More emphasis could be placed on the importance of participation in and access to creative and cultural activities.

This recommendation will be added to the strategy document.

12. Do you support our proposed approach to achieving safe and respectful community relations?

Sadly, many children arrive in pre- and primary schools, wholly unprepared in so many basic aspects of life. Much of the great work undertaken by caring teaching staff in our schools is undone by the complete lack of any parenting approaches in the home. This is where the council can provide a supportive, but not a replacement, role.

Details of the council’s Citizenship Scheme, which supports young people transitioning from primary to secondary school, will be added to this section of the strategy, together with the support that is available to pre-school children.

More interracial interfaith activities should be encouraged.

This is a priority of the new Strategy.

Points raised Response

Not convinced on the prevent strategy - seems more needs to be done in school, places of worship and with housing officers to help connect

Full details of how the Prevent Strategy is being applied in Hounslow is available on the council website – under Prevent.

Although I support this, to achieve the outcome, external Hounslow resources will be required. How will you measure "safe" and "respectful"?

The Resident’s Survey is carried out every two years and seeks to provide information from residents about these outcomes.

There must be a way in which to inform communities of how best dispose of rubbish without putting pressure on the rubbish collectors. Maybe more action needs to be taken to inform new comers of how best apply the lore of the land. More campaigns with landlords and estate agents in this regard would be most welcome.

This issue has been passed onto the council’s Communications Team.

Social housing should not have a stigma attached to it and Play Streets should be actively done in these streets to help people come out and get on with the neighbours.

This feedback will be added to the strategy. Reducing the stigma of social housing is a key priority for the Community Engagement Team.

Everyone plays their part in the community 13. Does the “you have told us” section accurately reflect your views?

Points raised Response

Active citizenship of the younger demographic is instrumental in bringing about lasting and meaningful change on the local level. Why not encourage this by creating age suitable volunteer roles for the young, and promoting school trips to local food banks outside of service hours, etc.

Details of the council’s Citizenship Scheme, which supports young people transitioning from primary to secondary school, will be added to this section of the strategy and some of these messages will be included in the scheme this year.

The comments on local councillors I feel are over optimistic - when people are standing again when they don’t show up much or speak at meetings or do much casework - I feel the council needs to intervene more where political parties fail -

These comments have been passed onto the Democratic Services Team for their feedback.

I believe that Steve Curran should once a month or so walk along through Hounslow high St and talk to every business owner, say hello to people as he walks along the street, he could hand out something like info on forums, cabinet meetings, maybe even with a couple of others like the current Mayor, Katherine Dunne as Leader for Communities. He is the leader and it is by being accessible and leading by example that barriers can be broken between council and community.

These suggestions have been passed onto the Leader, Mayor and Cllr Katherine Dunne.

Steve Curran is the councils best asset but he isn't used to full effect as so many do not know who he is and have mixed views of him. The more he goes "among the people" the more people will find confidence to approach the council - you have to extend the hand for them to take hold of it...

These comments have been passed onto the Leader’s office

14. Do you support our proposed approach to supporting everyone to play their part in the community?

According to the MEL report you were told: […] 2. There was distrust of the Council with a "them versus us" attitude from the Council.

This feedback is covered in the first bulled point under ‘You have told us’ in this section We have sought to address this through the following action in the ‘what we will do’ section : “ Create opportunities for collaborative working and facilitate open and honest discussion between the Council and residents, with the aim of improving the relationship between us.”

There is still a 'them and us' barrier between the council and residents, evidenced at HCN and network meetings

See previous comment

Points raised Response

There could be more focus given to the environment and green issues

The environment and improving it is an area that could be given more prominence in the final strategy and ways of doing this will be considered.

The key issue that the strategy fails to address is that of engagement between the Council and the public. It should be remembered that the initial engagement strategy was to be "merged" into the thriving communities strategy. In reality the engagement strategy has disappeared.

Engagement between the council and residents has been given a far higher profile than in the previous strategy, as a result of the workshops and research carried out prior to the drafting of the strategy. This is now covered in detail in the sections: Strong and Sustainable Community Groups, A Strong and Influential Community Voice and Everyone Plays Their Part In The Community

15. Having considered all the building blocks, do you think we have identified the

right ones?

16. Do you think the actions we have proposed throughout the strategy will help us to

meet the outcomes outlined on page 3?

Points raised Response

Yes, but it's about bringing this building blocks together in a way where there is a synergy between the various parts and making sure that these parts can talk to each other.

We have identified these building blocks specifically to provide a mechanism for monitoring the progress of the strategy by breaking down its component parts – which can then each be assessed separately and in the context of the strategy as a whole.

For bullet point two, I think that residents and communities need to be invited to take part, and this should be presented in a way that makes them feel empowered and trusted to take charge.

This is the main theme of the section; A Strong and Influential Community Voice

17. Do you have any other comments you would like to make about the draft

strategy?

The Strategy is very good, but it need a timetable of actions by which to have developed and implemented the ideas put forward.

The strategy is an ongoing and developing document. Updates on its progress will be regularly published on the council website. The Section: Making Sure It Happens details the monitoring process that will be undertaken by the council’s Community Partnerships Unit

Points raised Response

You cover good things, but it could be stepped up and enhanced further. Friends of Parks groups could be mentioned more

These are important local groups and will be added to the strategy

I think the CPU are amazing, particularly as a resource for finding and making local contacts, and being introduced. I think that schools and faith groups are not heavily engaged with the voluntary sector, which is an area that could be exploited a little more.

These comments will be passed onto CPU

1 The consultation does not allow for

submissions on behalf of a Residents’ Association – it is always assumed that the response is from an individual. 2. The problem with the consultation methodology is that the Council’s statements of “what you told us” does not actually reflect what the public did tell the Council, especially in respect of the first report of Mel Research . The respondent is manipulated into accepting that the premise of the “you told us” statements are correct. None of these statements reflects the issues flagged up by (the first) MEL Research report. The findings and the recommendations of the (first) MEL report have just been ignored. 3. The report by Rocket Science is entirely focussed on the VCSE sector and has nothing to say on private sector residents' groups. 4. When the “Thriving Communities strategy” was presented to amenities groups in an RAF meeting, the general reaction at the RAF meeting was that the “Thriving Communities strategy” might be appropriate for voluntary organisations providing a service, but was inappropriate to Residents’ Associations providing a voice for the local community. This has proved to be the case.

1. We have made no assumptions about who is responding and anticipated responses from both groups and individuals. In hindsight, a question on whether a response was on behalf of an organisation would have been useful, and we will bear this in mind for future consultations, however, all substantive points must be fully considered as part of a consultation, whether from an individual or a group. 2. This is not the case, the findings of the MEL report have fed heavily into the strategy and we have responded in this document to any omissions or perceived omissions. 3. Rocket Science were specifically commissioned to provide a reaerch project on the relationship between the council and the VCSE Sector in the borough 4. We are disappointed that you think this is the case, as we have tried to ensure this is not the case. We will look again at the strategy and consider whether there are further ways to emphasise this.

5. The Thriving Communities strategy does not address the issues raised in the public feedback on the Council’s engagement strategy. 6. While the thriving communities strategy addresses some communications issues, it falls very far short of including a focussed engagement strategy. The disconnect between the public and local government will continue to get worse.

5. We have responded to any specific omissions or perceived omissions. Hopefully the respondent has outlined anything specific that they thought should have been included and has not been. 6. See previous comment. While in some cases the strategy has set out specific single actions to address a particular piece of feedback, in others we have highlighted that a whole work programme will need to be established. For example, there is no quick fix for the feedback from the MEL Research workshops that residents feel they are not meaningfully involved in council decision making, either through communications and engagement or through Council meetings. We have proposed three key pieces of work to help us begin to address this:

- Work with key teams to develop a new approach to communicating on both upcoming decisions and decisions that have already been made.

- Continue to work with teams across the council to encourage better consultation and engagement, including better targeting of consultations at affected parties.

- Bring together relevant council teams, residents and community groups to explore ways of improving the transparency and openness of all council meetings.

The strategy covers a four-year period, and at the end of each section we have set out where we hope to be at the end of the four years.